Atarashī Mirai e
by Oozora no Hono
Summary: After a long 10 years of war, the Vongola Decimo is finally stuck down and killed by the Millefiore's boss, Byakuran. But 12 years prior to that time, a boy with old, haunted eyes, wanders into Namimori with no recollection of his past. With him, he carries a series of events that could change the Mafia world. Meanwhile, the soon-to-be-Mafia... full summary inside. Time-travel AU
1. Chapter 1

Atarashī Mirai e

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn in any way, shape, or form. It belongs to its respectful owner. I only own my ideas.**

**Warning(s): Character OOC-ness, Gen, AU**

**Summary: After a long 10 years of war, the Vongola Decimo is finally struck down and killed by the Millefiore's boss, Byakuran. But 12 years prior to that time, a boy with old, haunted eyes, wanders into Namimori with no recollection of his past. Meanwhile, they soon-to-be-Mafia Boss, Sawada Tsunayoshi trains to become the tenth successor of the Vongola. The only problem is that he acts like a big fat brat with a stick up his butt.**

* * *

"_A tutto c'è rimedio, fuorchè alla morte"_

_There is a cure for everything except death_

"_The Sea knows no bounds, the Clam passes down its form from Generation to Generation, and the Rainbow appears from time to time before fading away."_

* * *

Sharp orange eyes survey the bloodstained field with an odd sort of sorrow and regret. Not far off lay the bodies of his comrades whom had died protecting him from stray bullets and attacks.

As he scans the scene before him, his eyes meet with two wide blue ones. They shine brightly as if there was still hope, telling him to keep fighting for the people he loves.

A wry smile crosses the man's lips. All his loved ones were dead.

Suddenly, a cheery laugh breaks through the stillness of the air like a sharp knife cutting through a stick of butter.

"My, my Tsunayoshi-kun, I didn't know the Vongola was this weak." A man with spiked-white hair smiles, as if a bloody and gruesome battle hadn't taken place just seconds before. "You're the last, aren't you? Oh well." He shrugs his shoulders, two elegant angel wings flap behind him, "I had fun."

Brilliant orange flashes as a sunset-colored flame bursts to life. "You'll pay for this, Byakuran!" Tsunayoshi shouts, his face twisting with uncontrolled pain and fury. Pushing himself forward with his flames, Tsunayoshi maneuvers through the air to where Byakuran is lazily floating. "I'll defeat you with my Dying Will!"

"Tsk, tsk." Byakuran clicks his tongue while wagging a finger as if he were scolding a naughty child. "Jumping headfirst into battle, how rash."

Tsunayoshi flies forward, one arm extended to prepare for an X-Burner. But despite the obvious and incoming threat, his opponent remains relaxed as if he doesn't have a care in the world. Alarm bells go off in his head, warning him to stop. And for a split second, Tsunayoshi's eyes widen in panic. He can't stop—he's going too fast.

Byakuran's ever-existent smile doesn't falter once.

Tsunayoshi stops mid-flight as he feels something pierce his chest. Looking down, he sees Byakuran's arm sticking out of the spot where his heart should be. The world sways before him as his vision starts to swim. A faint and worried cry comes from below.

'_Ah,'_ Tsunayoshi thinks tiredly, his mind beginning to grow cloudy, _'that must be Yuni.'_ A warm, sticky liquid drips down his chin. Blood. He was bleeding. He was dying. Just like everyone else.

A loud squelching noise sounds when Byakuran withdraws his arm from Tsunayoshi's chest. He watches with cold amusement as his rival falls 30 meters to the ground, his body landing with a sickening crunch.

The Sky Arcobaleno, Yuni, gasps in horror and immediately rushes over to the fallen Mafia Boss, fear evident on her face. One look at the dimming light in Tsunayoshi's eyes causes her to whip her head up and glare at the enemy straight in the face. "Why, Byakuran?"

Her voice is quiet, but for some reason, Byakuran could hear her quite fine. He cocks his head to the side in a questioning manner.

"Would you really go this far to control every parallel world? Do you really have to conquer every, single, one? Or could one not have been enough for you?" Tears spring from her deep-blue eyes, but Byakuran's attention had long since switched from her to something else—the orange pacifier tied with a pink ribbon around Yuni's neck had started to glow.

When it glowed, that could only mean one of a few things. One: Yuni was trying to resurrect the Arcobaleno, which, of course, were long dead. And even if they were brought back to life, they'd stand no chance against the Millefiore. Two: Yuni was emitting Dying Will flames for an attack, which was highly unlikely. The Sky Arcobaleno _never_ fought with flames. Three: there was another Arcobaleno in the area, but that was impossible because as mentioned already, they were all dead. Four: there was something going on with the Tri-Ni-Set.

Byakuran has a feeling that it's number four.

Seconds later, his hunch is confirmed when his Mare ring begins to emit orange light. Below, Tsunayoshi's Vongola ring does the same. All three parts of the Tri-Ni-Set begin to blaze.

Yuni marvels at the sight, her previous thoughts temporarily forgotten as the two rings and pacifier separate themselves from their owners and float up into the air. As time ticks by, they grow brighter and brighter until she has to shield her eyes from the light.

From his position on the ground, Tsunayoshi watches the spectacle with detached amazement. Part of him is frozen with wonder as they shine like the sun, while the other half steadily grows tired. He was losing a lot of blood—he knew that. He was going to die, he knew that too. The only thing he doesn't know was what was going on before him.

But as another wave of tiredness washes over him, he finally gives in to sleep. Life would probably be better where his friends were—not where a psychotic, marshmallow-loving man controls countless worlds. Gradually, his world grew dark apart from the burning image of an orange sun imprinted behind his eyelids.

A distant voice calls out to him to hang in there, but he ignores it. How could he hang if he is already lying on the ground? He isn't suspended 30 meters in the air anymore. It makes no sense.

Stooping over her comrade's body, Yuni shakes Tsunayoshi frantically, trying to keep him conscious. She presses a hand to the wet hole in his chest to stop the blood from flowing freely. Not that it helps. Her gaze is narrowed in an attempt to block out the blinding light overhead. Is there even a limit to how bright something could get?

It seems as if whatever is controlling the Tri-Ni-Set heard her thoughts as a hot white flash swarms her vision, then everything promptly returns to normal. She blinks hard until her vision comes back. In the air, Byakuran had disappeared to who-knows-where. Probably to grab a pair of sunglasses—the nerve of him! So, she turns to focus all her attention on the person lying beside her.

But by then, two dull-orange eyes stare sightlessly at the sky.

**{I}**

A raven-haired teen watched in quiet fascination as an orange light morphed into the shape of a human being. It is a he, despite the small build, and it seemed like he was unconscious.

The teen was mystified. The clothes the boy was wearing were way too big for his body. Not to mention they were all battered and bloody. To top it off, they looked extremely expensive—a silk tie hung loosely around his neck, and the black suit and pants looked tailored at best.

Upon closer inspection, there was one obvious injury on the boy's body. It was surrounded by semi-dry blood and it looked to be healing. The wound itself was surrounded by a flaming red ring and looked pretty painful—a scar would probably be left behind when it completely healed.

The raven-haired teen itched to just hit the boy on the head with a tonfa in order to wake him up. But he reluctantly squashed the idea. As the infamous Hibari Kyoya, it was his duty to protect Namimori and make sure that the peace wouldn't be disrupted. With a quick glance around, it was quite obvious that nothing was out of order by this boy's sudden…appearance. No one was around except for him and the boy.

With a growl of frustration, one Hibari Kyoya ungraciously pulled the boy up by an arm and slung it over his shoulder. Inwardly, he winced. Heavy! The boy may have been small, but his looks were certainly deceiving. So, Hibari had no choice but to drag him along to the hospital.

He was allowed into the hospital without question and his extra luggage was barely spared a second glance. He _did_ own the place. And it wasn't uncommon to see him walk in with injuries of some sort. Well it _was_ uncommon to see him walk in with a _second_ person sporting injuries as he was known to leave them bleeding on the sidewalks after calling an ambulance. But the hospital staff didn't want to be subject to Hibari's wrath so they wisely stayed quiet about the matter.

Entering an empty room, usually reserved for patients in critical conditions, Hibari dumped the boy into the bed. A small moan escaped the boy's lips, but he remained unconscious. Well at least he was still alive.

With that, Hibari pressed a red button to call a nurse to the room. It wouldn't hurt to get him cleaned up a little. Blood coated almost every part of his body.

Seconds after he called, a nurse came rushing into the room and immediately stiffened when she saw the two occupants. Sketching a hasty bow towards Hibari, she murmured a few incoherent words.

Hibari scowled at how pathetic the herbivore acted, but jerked his head in the direction of the boy.

The nurse bowed again and set to work.

Without a second thought, Hibari left the hospital and resumed his daily patrols around Namimori. He was 20 minutes behind schedule.

**{I}**

He couldn't help it.

While his tonfas smashed down on an herbivore's head, his thoughts began drifting back to that boy. He silently cursed himself for thinking about him. But the circumstances surrounding the boy's appearance peaked his interest, if only slightly.

Subconsciously, Hibari sent another tonfa flying into another herbivore's gut. The light orange flash was the same color as those flames on top of the Annoying Herbivore's head. And for a second, Hibari swore he saw some sort of complicated insignia burning over the boy's head before it faded almost as quickly as it came.

A third and fourth attack with his weapons sent a third herbivore off crying in pain when both his arms broke. It was even crazier when you thought about how the boy even got there. One second, Hibari was patrolling around the park, and the next, a flash temporarily blinded him. Ready to bite whoever caused the disturbance to death, Hibari looked around only to see a boy propped up against a tree who certainly hadn't been there just moments ago.

He even had scratches and cuts littering his body as if he had participated in a fight, which, Hibari would have known about if it had happened within Namimori's borders. A satisfying crunch could be heard when an herbivore's nose broke under his steel tonfa.

A small smirk coated Hibari's lips as he watched the crowd of herbivores run away with their tails between their legs.

Three days. That's how long it had been since he brought the boy to the hospital. So far, no word about his condition had come. So with legs that Hibari warned he would cut off if they didn't stop carrying him towards the hospital, he made his way over to where the boy should be.

Bursting into the room where he dimly remembered placing they boy, Hibari took in the scene before him.

Quite beeping from the heart monitor melded into the noises threatening to burst his ears, rustling came from the curtains of an open window, an IV line silently dripped, and otherwise, nothing else seemed to stand out.

He stiffly waked over to the occupant in the bed and stared down at his sleeping face with a hint of curiosity. Was it just his mind playing ticks on him or did this boy look frighteningly similar to the Annoying Herbivore?

After his hair and face had been cleaned of the dried blood, he did look hauntingly close to what the Annoying Herbivore looked like. The hair—though a bit lighter—was still that annoying fluffy brown that always made Hibari want to hit it with his tonfas until it lay flat. The face was slim and his jaw structure matched the Annoying Herbivore's perfectly.

But the only problem was that the Annoying Herbivore didn't have a brother. Or even a twin. As far as his files on the residents of Namimori went, Sawada Nana and Sawada Iemitsu were the mother and father of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Or the Annoying Herbivore as Hibari so graciously called him.

There were no records of a second child. None that died at birth, none that died at a young age. Nothing—unless someone had deleted that piece of information. After all, Hibari knew that Sawada Iemitsu was part of the Mafia, though he wasn't sure which family he worked for or his current status in the underground world. The Mafia was pretty tight-lipped that way. He found it infuriating.

Suddenly, Hibari found two golden-brown eyes boring into his own cold grey ones. For a second, they flashed in recognition before going blank. Hibari stared at the now-awake boy in puzzlement. What was that all about? He hadn't seen this person in his entire life—apart from that time three days ago, but that didn't count—yet for a second, they boy's eyes showed that he had seen him before. But he was unconscious the entire time so there was no way he could have known him.

Deciding to be the first to speak, Hibari opened his mouth to ask a question. "Who are you?" Straight to the point, no need travel around in circles.

A raspy voice came out from the boy's mouth, but it was just enough for Hibari to hear.

"T-Tsu…" For a second, a confused expression crossed the boy's face and it seemed like he was going through some sort of inner turmoil.

Hibari watched expectantly as the boy's eyes took on a sad look before another emotion replaced it. Was something wrong with him? It seemed as if he couldn't remember anything.

Finally, after going through an entire debate, the boy answered. "Ietsuna."

Ietsuna? Hibari frowned. It was the name of a Tokugawa Shogun, the eldest son and successor of the Shogun Iemitsu, and later succeeded by his younger brother, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, after his death. Was it a coincidence that he shared looks with the Annoying Herbivore and shared a name filled with history?

As his thoughts drifted, the boy—Ietsuna—struggled to sit up. A couple of winces later, Ietsuna was sitting up in his bed for the first time in a few days. A glass of water had been left on a stand beside him so with a shaking hand; he took it and slowly gulped it down.

Hibari narrowed his eyes. He'd watched lots of people recover from bullet wounds or other injuries before, and rapidly gulp down a full glass of water until they were coughing and spluttering pathetically when they woke up. Either Ietsuna had been seriously injured before and learned from a simple mistake, or he was just cautious in personality.

When half of the water had disappeared, Ietsuna looked down at his reflection shining up at him from the smooth surface of the glass. He gasped in shock and promptly dropped the cup, spilling its contents all over the sheets.

All the while, Hibari watched the boy's actions with a hint of curiosity.

Ietsuna squeaked and leapt out of the bed to escape the coldness of the water. But after not using his body for a while, his legs gave out from under him and he crumpled to the ground.

How pathetic. Hibari sniffed. Pathetic Herbivore should be an appropriate name.

Rubbing his sore body, the Pathetic Herbivore used the bed to push himself up. After a minute or two of getting used to standing again, he released his hold and shakily stood.

Hibari watched the entire time. But he stiffened when the Pathetic Herbivore straightened. That posture. He looked like those war veterans that Hibari had seen years ago when his father had taken him to see the homecoming of soldiers from the previous war.

It was weary but the way he held himself showed alertness and maybe even power. Was this person really a pathetic herbivore like Hibari had previously thought? He immediately squashed the thought. An Herbivore was an Herbivore.

Gleaming amber eyes surveyed his surroundings carefully. One door. One open window. One other occupant. A glass cup. One bed. A wooden chair. An IV line that was now leaving a red puddle on the floor after being ripped from his arm. And a few other hospital-related objects that gave him unpleasant memories.

Then he froze as if something overcame him. What was he doing? His mind had gone blank for some reason. It was strange. It was as if he were acting as he always did, but then in the middle of doing whatever he was doing, he forgot everything. Like his body was acting on its own then when he actually realized what he was doing, he couldn't put a finger on whatever it was.

A long mirror stretched across one side of the wall. Weird. Were mirrors supposed to be in hospital room?

Then he remembered why he was standing in the first place. Rushing over to the mirror, Ietsuna took in his appearance. Thin, shorter, younger. What was going on? Last time he checked he was 26! Now he looked how he did when he was in his early teens! Ietsuna shook his head when another wave of blankness overcame him. 26? What was he thinking about? His reflection screamed 'I'm younger than that!' to him.

After fleeting thoughts came and went, giving him a headache, Ietsuna finally noticed the second person in the room staring at him with an emotionless face. He turned around and gave an embarrassed wave of his hand. "Hi?"

Strange. His voice came out younger than when he had last used it.

"Hn." Came the reply, sending a fleeting sense of nostalgia through Ietsuna.

So, he decided to ask, "Have we met before?"

"No." The raven-haired teen answered bluntly.

"Oh." Ietsuna felt it strange to hear a twinge of disappointment sound in his voice. "I guess I've mistaken you for someone else."

Hibari watched the Pathetic Herbivore speak and inwardly cringed when he heard the raw sadness come from his mouth. What was wrong with him? His actions were strange. One second, he acts as if he held endless knowledge and power, another, he's acting like a clueless herbivore.

Maybe calling him an Omnivore would suit him for now. "Omnivore."

A flash of melancholy appeared then disappeared. "Me?" He pointed a finger at himself.

Hibari jerked his head in a nod. "Who are you?" He repeated his previous question because he hadn't been content with the last answer.

"Ietsuna." The Omnivore answered hesitantly, then a strange look crossed his face as if the name sounded foreign. "I think." He added after a long pause.

"What do you mean?" Hibari growled, growing increasingly suspicious the longer the conversation lasted.

Ietsuna rubbed his head tiredly. "I don't know. I can't remember anything."

So that explained his weird movements and actions. The boy didn't know what he was doing in a hospital, who he really was, or even where he was. Yet another piece of information for Hibari to store in his temporary file for the Omnivore.

Hibari frowned. It would be useless trying to get anything else out of the Omnivore. No matter how much he wanted to bite him to death to squeeze information out, Hibari reluctantly decided against it.

Feeling uncharacteristically generous, Hibari looked sharply at the Omnivore. "Do you remember your parents?"

There was a small shake of a head.

Hibari grumbled under his breath before shifting uncomfortable on his feet. It was his duty to protect the citizens of Namimori. If this person was indeed a resident, then he'd have to watch over him until he could find his family. But if this person wasn't a citizen of Namimori, he was a threat to the peace and proper punishment must be dealt. But in the meanwhile, it would be best to keep a close eye on him.

It was obvious that he wasn't a spy. No spy was good enough to replicate emotions like the ones the Omnivore had just shown. And it was highly unlikely that whatever boss would send him would injure him so severely. Unless, of course, he was caught and ended up in a fight, thus explaining all his injuries.

But the most likely situation would be if the Omnivore was running away from something—or somebody—and barely escaped with his life. He must be a part of the underground world. That would explain most of the clues.

What Hibari didn't know, however, was the fact that only time would show how close his suspicions were to the real thing.

But what about the over-sized suit? Hibari's gaze slid over to the neatly folded and cleaned dress suit sitting innocently on a counter. Why would a teenage boy be wearing adult-sized clothing?

"Um, excuse me?"

Hibari's silver eyes snapped back over to the Omnivore standing uncertainly in front of the mirror. He jumped at the dangerous look Hibari gave him. Subconsciously, Hibari calmed down. Something about this Omnivore seemed…off, but calming all the same.

Shrugging off his unnecessary thoughts, Hibari closed his eyes and spun on his heel. "Follow me." Without a second glance, Hibari stalked off, slinging the suite across his shoulder, knowing that the Omnivore was obediently following his order. He was slightly surprised that the Omnivore's footsteps were sharp and deft, as if he carried himself with a regal air.

As they walked out of the hospital without a problem, people began staring, wondering why the feared prefect of Namimori was walking with another boy—in hospital clothes—_within ten feet of him. _

Hibari, of course, ignored the whispers like he always did. But the Omnivore was a different story. From the corner of his eye, Hibari watched as he jumped at every sound as if something were out to kill him. At every stare, he sent a wary glance before his eyes darted over to where the next conversation came from.

He was so absorbed in watching the Omnivore's peculiar behavior that he barely managed to avoid tripping over the fedora-wearing child standing in front of him.

"Baby." He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Hibari." The child nodded back, sending an inquisitive glance at the teen following the prefect before his onyx colored eyes settled back on Hibari.

"I felt a disturbance around here." The baby began, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Who's he?"

Hibari gave a small shrug. "Don't know. He appeared a few days ago."

Ietsuna wandered over to where the two were holding their discussion. He slowly bent down to stare at the baby in the eye. "Re…born?" Then he blinked and shook his head. "Hello." He said pleasantly. "I'm Ietsuna."

The baby gave Ietsuna a searching stare, making him squirm uncomfortably. Eventually, he completely ignored the boy and resumed his talk with Hibari. "Well?"

Hibari glared. He did not want to repeat himself.

Thankfully, the baby just nodded and jumped onto Ietsuna's shoulder, making the latter squeak in surprise. "My name's Reborn. I'm the Number One Hitman in the World."

A contemplative look enveloped Ietsuna when the baby, Reborn, gave his name. "Reborn." He whispered softly, his voice laced in sorrow.

Reborn himself, frowned. There was something different about this boy. From where he was sitting, Reborn could feel a well-muscled arm under the large hospital gown. And after staring into two golden pools of sadness, Reborn had an inkling of a feeling that the boy had an entire tragic history behind him.

But what caught his eyes the second they landed on the boy was his uncanny resemblance to his student, Tsunayoshi. Large eyes of similar colors, fluffy brown hair (Ietsuna's seemed to be a little longer and lighter in color), and they were even around the same height.

So when Hibari, of all people, indirectly said that he had no clue whatsoever to whom the boy, Ietsuna, was, Reborn grew wary. He could be a potential threat to the Vongola or an assassin used to replace the current Vongola Decimo-in-training. After the escapee, Rokudo Mukuro, escaped from the Vindice prison, Reborn was cautious of any new face around town.

His obnoxious protégé had barely made it out alive after the fight with Rokudo Mukuro. Although, Reborn couldn't say it was a bad thing. He had learned how to go into Hyper Dying Will Mode in the process.

He'd have to dig around and investigate when he had the time. But for now, it was a great opportunity to observe the teen while he had the chance.

As time passed, and the three of them continued walking to wherever Hibari wanted to go, Reborn grew increasingly impatient. Ietsuna had thus far shown no signs of hostility or ill intent. What was even more perplexing was the fact that as they traveled through town, he seemed to gain a sort of nostalgic and miserable look to him that made Reborn pat him on the head.

He was the world's Number One Hitman, d*mmit! He didn't pat people on the head, let alone some teenager that he barely knew!

As if sensing his frustration, a small green chameleon climbed off his fedora and into his hands. Reborn began to stroke the smooth and scaly skin to calm his nerves. Then, he felt a stare, the familiar tingling in the back of his mind telling him so. His grip on his pet chameleon, Leon, tightened slightly.

His two, coal black eyes met with two golden-brown ones in surprise. "What?" He blurted out, silently letting out a sigh of relief. At least they weren't being followed. The stare he had felt was Ietsuna watching him.

Ietsuna shrugged, sending Reborn up and back down uncomfortably. "You seemed a little…annoyed." He shrugged again. "I think."

Reborn's wide, oval eyes narrowed. As far as he knew, he masked his emotions expertly. The only ones who could tell what was going on inside his head were Luce (in her case, had been), Leon, his annoying student (when he was smart enough to activate his Hyper Intuition), and Reborn himself.

Now, some random teen that Reborn had met minutes ago could tell what he was thinking and feeling. How intriguing.

Reborn was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when Ietsuna and Hibari stopped walking, standing in front of an old Japanese-style house that stretched for a good couple hundred square meters.

With a start, he realized it was the Hibari mansion, located in a part of town that Reborn had only visited once when he arrived in Namimori. Looking sideways, he stared at Ietsuna's slightly awe-struck face. For a second, Reborn swore he could see his golden eyes glimmer with something before it disappeared.

"Omnivore. You will stay here until your family is found."

If he weren't the world's best hitman, Reborn would have done a double take. Hibari would let this boy stay at the Hibari mansion? Heck, Reborn bet all the money in his account that Hibari barely knew this boy.

What was so special about him?

**{I}**

Ietsuna sneaked another look at the baby sitting on his shoulder who was currently deep in thought. He looked familiar. Frighteningly familiar. But he couldn't quite place a finger on where he'd seen the baby before. As far as he could tell, he had no memories of what happened before he woke up in the hospital apart from pain and a blinding orange light.

But, as they walked through the town, Ietsuna knew he'd been here before. The scenery, the people—all of it sparked some sort of wistfulness in his heart. It was scary, Ietsuna realized, to be surrounded by so many things that made his heart ache.

Ietsuna's feet carried him inside the mansion as Hibari jerked his head to the side as a gesture to come inside.

The raven-haired prefect led him into a large but empty room. A single table stood low to the tatami floor, and the sun from outside lit up the area just enough to make out the surroundings.

Hibari had disappeared somewhere; Ietsuna noticed when he automatically examined the room. There were no signs of weapons, or windows or glass, and there was a sliding door that led outside to what Ietsuna assumed was the backyard. Abruptly, his head jerked to a halt. Why was he doing this again?

Reborn watched Ietsuna's expression as it went from cold and calculating to confused. It seemed as if Reborn was looking at a seasoned assassin or Mafioso until the change in countenance. Did he catch himself in the act and immediately slip back into his feigning-innocence mode? Or was there more to this that Reborn didn't know about?

"Ietsuna."

Ietsuna turned his head sideways to look at Reborn. "Yes?"

Mind games were stupid. He might as well get straight to the point. "Have you ever heard of the Mafia?"

Ietsuna's face was blank, but before Reborn could look more into the emotion (could it be considered one?), it was gone and replaced by a polite smile. At least he got a reaction.

"No, I've never heard of it." Ietsuna answered, running one hand through his light-brown hair. "I think." He added, as he always seemed to do when he replied to a question.

His voice sounded genuine, so Reborn decided to let that slip. Instead, he decided it was time to read his mind. Of course, he couldn't _really_ read minds; it was just through the observation of the person and a wild guess when he could tell what they were thinking.

But after a minute or two passed, Reborn came to a stalemate. Ietsuna was _trying_ to think, not thinking. He was trying to remember something but couldn't. "Do you remember anything about yourself or where you came from?"

Ietsuna gave a shake of his head. "I get fleeting images of blurry faces and scenes, but nothing else."

Reborn frowned. The boy was suffering from amnesia.

A clink of glass pulled Reborn back to reality. Hibari had reappeared with two cups of tea and one cup of coffee. Reborn mentally patted the prefect on the back for knowing how much he adored coffee.

Ietsuna slowly walked over to the table and sat down cautiously as if he were worried something might happen. When he decided that nothing was amiss, he picked up the steaming cup between his hands and sipped it delicately.

Reborn hopped off the boy's shoulder and took his own coffee, giving it a little taste. Perfect.

**{I}**

Hibari had to go out on his afternoon patrols of Namimori, dragging Ietsuna with him. Reborn decided to tag along for fun although he had other…secret reasons too that he would never say aloud. Around halfway through, Reborn managed to convince Hibari to let Ietsuna explore town a little more. With Reborn's supervision, of course, otherwise it was unlikely to happen.

That was why Ietsuna and Reborn found themselves wandering around aimlessly because 1) Ietsuna didn't care where they went and 2) Reborn didn't want to explore, (he lied to Hibari) all he wanted to do was observe the boy closely for a day.

They eventually meandered their way to the park and sat down in the soft grass in an uncomfortable silence. It was Ietsuna who finally broke it.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Reborn asked.

"You want to ask me something, don't you?"

Reborn thought for a second. It was strange, how the boy knew what was going through his head. He did have lots of questions. Any normal person would if they stumbled across an amnesiac who held similarities to someone they knew.

"No, I don't." He responded, hoping that his questions would answer themselves over time.

Ietsuna shrugged, scratching the new pair of clothes he was wearing, something that Hibari had lent him. It was simple apart from the two rabbit faces on the shoulders—an obvious reason why Hibari would never wear it in public. Reborn speculated that it was probably an untouched present from Hibari's absent parents.

Falling back, Ietsuna landed in the grass and crossed his arms behind his head as a pillow. He stared up at the red-orange sky, watching the sun begin its slow journey downwards.

Bored, Reborn scanned the park to see if there was any entertainment that he could keep himself occupied with until Hibari found them and picked up his unwanted luggage. He was currently engrossed in a staring contest with a beetle when he felt Ietsuna tense and sit up. Movement caught his eye, and he turned to see what it was, already half-knowing what it would be.

"That idiot student." Reborn cursed, standing up and letting Leon climb into his hand.

Ietsuna glanced at him. "Who? You mean that guy?" He pointed to a teenager with shoulder-length blond hair. "Or that guy?" He turned his finger to another teen with long hair tied in a low ponytail. "Or that guy?" He then pointed at a scrawny kid wearing over-sized glasses. "Or that guy?" The only person left was another teen with fluffy brown hair.

"It isn't polite to point." Reborn chastised teasingly. "And no, no, no, yes."

"Oh, hmm, so he's an idiot?"

"Yes."

"So you wouldn't mind if I did anything…harmful to him, would you?" Reborn didn't like the mischievous look Ietsuna had on his face, but when he looked at his idiot student doing an idiotic thing once again, he decided that Tsunayoshi had it coming.

"I wouldn't mind at all."

Grinning, Ietsuna pushed himself off the grass and bounced up onto his feet. Rolling his shoulders, (Reborn thought it was to show-off) he jogged over to where Tsunayoshi and his mini-gang were beating up a younger kid (the one in glasses).

"Hey, you there." Ietsuna said, staring at the three offenders. "Can you let me in on some fun?"

Tsunayoshi sneered. "I take it you wanna' join us, then? Tough luck, kid. The party isn't open to outsiders."

Ietsuna kicked a rock and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Oh, too bad. I was hoping I could get a nice warm-up. I've been stuck in the hospital for a while and I can just feel myself getting weaker everyday." He emphasized the last sentence, a strange glint in his eyes.

"Listen," Tsunayoshi growled, eyeing the cowering boy predatorily, "you better scram or else you're next."

"Oooh!" Ietsuna smiled childishly, "Next for what? Is it a surprise?"

"I think I know why you were in the hospital." Tsunayoshi said, staring at Ietsuna as if he were stupid.

"Take a shot at it, I'd like to know."

Reborn shook his head in exasperation. Was this what Ietsuna called harmful? The only harm being done right now was to the grass they were standing on and maybe the occasional unlucky ant.

"Well—"

Before he could fully respond, Tsunayoshi fell to the ground, curled up on his side and clutching his stomach where a fist had buried itself. Reborn watched the scene unfold in slight amazement.

Although Ietsuna had been hospitalized, he was a skilled fighter. Reborn noted that some of his movements were a tad bit sluggish and imperfect, but his senses were good, _too_ good for a kid his age. He decided to turn Leon into a video camera to record the fight.

The teen with the ponytail came charging in with a thick branch he had acquired from a nearby tree next. He swiped with it, its extra branches giving him a wider reach.

"Woah!" Ietsuna jumped away, escaping only with a few scratches where the splintered tips of wood had touched him. Then he dove forward, rolled to his feet and snatched the branch out of the teen's hand, whacking him upside the head then lightly pushing him backwards, using his momentum as an advantage, to make him fall flat on his back.

But as the teen feel, the next one came, fists raised, and wildly charging in head-on.

Ietsuna stuck out his leg. The teen fell on his face with a crack.

"Oops, I think I broke his nose." He paused. "Wait, technically, he broke his own nose because he's the one who landed like that. He could have prevented it. So it's not my fault."

Reborn sighed at the boy's reasoning.

"Tch, you're better than you look." Tsunayoshi said, pushing himself up from the ground and wiping the dirt from his clothes.

"Why thank you." Ietsuna answered graciously.

"I didn't mean it as a compliment—never mind, you're too stupid to understand."

"Hey," Ietsuna frowned, "I'm not stupid! Maybe I was in middle school, but not now."

Reborn himself frowned too. Wasn't Ietsuna in middle school? He was around his idiotic student's age. Maybe he skipped a grade. But that wouldn't be right if he admitted he was slightly dumb.

Tsunayoshi spit on the ground. "Who are you anyway? I've never seen you're face around here before."

"The name's Ietsuna, thank you very much."

"Hmph. Well then Ietsuna, I'll let it be known that I am the boss of Namimori. Those who go against me will be punished."

"I thought that was What's-His-Face's job."

Tsunayoshi looked slightly frightened at the mention of the feared prefect of Namimori, but shook it off. "You mean Hibari? He's weak, don't lump me together with a guy like that."

"I really do think that it's That-Name-You-Just-Said's job."

"It's Hibari, get it right. And I _am_ a boss, I have always been destined to be one—to rule over people and dispose of them at my command." Tsunayoshi glared. "Do you want me to prove it to you?"

"No, not really."

Tsunayoshi ignored the comment and stalked up to Ietsuna, shoving his right hand into his face. "See? This is proof that I am the heir to a powerful Mafia family." On his ring finger lay a gleaming silver ring with a blue jewel inlaid in the center.

Ietsuna could just make out the word 'Vongola'. He stared at it, feeling something gnawing at the back of his mind. His chest hurt.

"Well? My father gave it to me _years_ ago. It's supposed to give its owner incredible power." Tsunayoshi smiled, "Watch this." He closed his eyes, his face taking on a look of concentration.

Reborn slapped his head at his student's stupidity. An heir-in-training wasn't supposed to go around flaunting his status. Assassin would be on him in a second.

"What's taking so long, it's been what? Two seconds? I'm getting bored over here." Ietsuna asked, poking Tsunayoshi's cheek.

"Three seconds! And that's not long at all!" He shot back, opening one eye in annoyance. "Now be quiet, and I'll show you the power that only the Vongola's boss can have."

Ietsuna yawned. "Sure, sure. But hurry up, I need my beauty sleep."

Finally, a spark of orange burst into life on top of Tsunayoshi's head but just as quickly, it faded.

"What? What's wrong?" He shouted, looking irritated. "It worked when I was fighting that Pineapple freak!"

Stifling a laugh, Ietsuna began walking towards the boy who Tsunayoshi and his gang had been bullying, completely ignoring the frustrated boy who was shouting curse words at an inanimate object. "Hey, are you ok?"

The boy shook his head rapidly, but kept his mouth tightly shut.

Ietsuna held out a hand to help the boy up. "Nice to meet you, what's your name?"

The boy cringed, and held his stomach as if it hurt. He seemed to think for a moment before replying. "Irie. Irie Shoichi." He accepted the hand and was pulled to his feet. Adjusting his glasses, he glanced at Tsunayoshi nervously. "Are you two…related?"

"Huh?" Ietsuna said incredulously, "Me, and him? Ha, no way!" He scoffed, giving Tsunayoshi a warning look not to make a snarky comment. "Never seen him in my life."

"Oh. Well you look alike."

Ietsuna shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, we do, don't we?"

**{I}**

When night fell, Ietsuna bathed in a spare bathroom and then lay down on a futon the raven-haired teen had lent him. He replayed the day's events in his head. It was strange, meeting a baby who could talk. But for some reason, he wasn't surprised.

He let out a long sigh. At least the teen was nice enough to let him stay here when he didn't know where else to go. Though it seemed like the teen wasn't the type to be very caring.

Staring up at the ceiling, Ietsuna felt the first signs of exhaustion arrive. He closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep, telling himself to think about everything else when he woke up.

**{I}**

_Screams. The smell of burning flesh. The metallic tang of blood. Fear._

_Ietsuna cried out as he watched a raven-haired man rush out into the battle, purple fire coating his steel tonfas._

_There were too many enemies. The Millefiore had them outnumbered. _

_Ietsuna struggled to move—but he couldn't. There was something tying him in place, keeping him frozen to the ground._

_A man in a suit was struck down when a bullet buried itself in his head. Another man was cut cleanly in half when a scythe covered in red flames sliced through his body._

_Each time one of his comrades fell, Ietsuna could only cry out in fury and anger to the mastermind behind the attack. The ambush had taken them by surprise—they had been completely unprepared. _

_He had been returning from a meeting with allied family bosses when close to a hundred Millefiore Mafioso appeared armed with either guns or flames._

_Kyoya, who was accompanying him, leapt into battle, tearing through the ranks with ease. His other guards, Basil and a few members of the Vongola had formed a protective circle around their boss, fending off the incoming attacks._

_He desperately wanted to join in the battle. His mittens were in his back pocket and his contacts were already in his eyes. But Basil firmly told him to stay back. If his life were lost, then it would be the end for the Vongola._

_He screamed when a bullet hit Basil in the chest but nothing but silence greeted him. He moved his mouth but no sound came out. Basil fell to the ground, bleeding heavily but still alive. His box weapon, Alfin, hovered worriedly over his master's body._

_Ietsuna tried again to move his feet so he could reach Basil, but his attempt proved futile. How long would it be until reinforcements arrived? How long would it take for Onii-san to rush to the scene and heal all the injuries his guards retained?_

_It hurt to watch. It hurt so see the pain everyone was experiencing in his place. It hurt to see people die when it should have been him. He squeezed his eyes firmly shut and attempted to block out all the terrified screams. But no matter how much he tried, the haunting noises always reached his ears, and the images of blood and death were to be forever imprinted behind his eyes._

_Finally, a furious cry wrenched his eyes back open just in time to see more enemy Mafioso arrive and surround Kyoya. They were too much for him despite his strength as the Vongola's strongest guardian. _

_Faintly, Ietsuna remembered Kyoya's words from a few days ago._

'Even I can get overwhelmed at two hundred to one.'

_Slowly, they pushed him back until he was just barely fending off attacks. Then, one man broke through Kyoya's iron-hard defense and left a long gash along the side of his cheek. But as more people began to come and fight, Kyoya's defense began to shatter._

_For a second, their eyes met, two golden-brown ones with two silvery-grey ones. A spark of acceptance flashed though the grey ones before the only color Ietsuna could see was red._

_A silent scream erupted from Ietsuna's mouth as he watched Kyoya fall, countless knives, and swords sticking out from his body at various angles, bullet holes littering parts of his body, and blood spurting out from all the wounds he received._

_Then the Mafioso all disappeared. All that was left was the broken and battered body of Kyoya. He watched in horror as his body fell to the unforgiving ground with a dull thump. All the while, Kyoya's lifeless grey eyes remained locked on his own._

_The scene changed._

_Suddenly, Ietsuna was alone on a battlefield with only two others. Yuni, the young woman standing off to the side, and Byakuran._

_Byakuran._

_Hatred coursed through Ietsuna's veins at the thought of his name. He was the cause for all his friends' deaths. He was the cause for all the pain and suffering Ietsuna went through these past 15 years of war._

_He shouted in rage. He could feel his anger boiling under his skin, waiting to be unleashed. It erupted in the form of flames, bursting out of his hands and pushing him into the air._

_Then, a burning feeling paralyzed him, and a falling sensation washed over him. Faintly, he could see a trail of red he left in the air as he dropped. When he hit the ground, he felt something snap but he couldn't feel it over the pain he was currently experiencing in his chest. _

_Was it the wound that hurt? No, it was something else. He was grieving for his family. He had failed them._

_The following events passed in a blurred slow motion. Yuni was over him, talking to him in a garbled voice. Then there were three orange suns that melded into one massive one. Then a large, explosive flash came from above. Then nothing but agony._

**{I}**

Ietsuna woke up screaming.

He noticed the intimidating teen from earlier standing wearily by the door, unsure if he should come in or not.

But that didn't matter. He lurched forward, panting hard, one hand over his heart where the pain from his dream still made it throb, the other over one side of his face. He remembered.

It wasn't much, but it was something.

The raven-haired teen was Kyoya from his dream, but younger. The resemblance was way too eerie to be a trick. And he _knew_ that he'd seen the teen before. It wasn't until the dream when Ietsuna finally realized where.

The only problem was the age difference between the two. The one he knew was close to 28 if he got his facts straight. This one was obviously 12 or so years younger.

Locking gazes with Hibari, Ietsuna let out a hoarse whisper. "Are you Hibari Kyoya?" The teen hadn't given his name yet, so it didn't hurt to confirm his suspicions. And the Hibari Tsunayoshi had mentioned could have been anyone.

He didn't reply immediately, but he finally nodded his head in confirmation.

'_This must all be a terrible nightmare,' _Ietsuna thought, as a burning realizing overcame him.

He had died.

Those two dreams were his _past_ experiences, his _other_ life, something in the back of his mind told him. But now he was alive again and somehow in a different time period.

He forced himself to calm down. Deep, steady breaths. When his heart rate had finally returned to normal, Ietsuna let the hand over his heart slide down and rest on his lap. His chest still hurt and when he looked down, he could see an angry red scar with fresh blood leaking from it.

That's right, he hadn't taken much notice, but before he bathed, there were bandages wrapped around his body.

Noting that his left hand was still clutching his face, he carefully pried it off. Something cold and metallic brushed his finger so in the dim light he inspected his hand.

A gleaming two-part ring with the words 'Vongola Famiglia' stared back at him.

* * *

Name: Sawada Tsunayoshi (Ietsuna)

Age: 26 (14)

Position: Vongola Decimo

Status: Alive

* * *

A/N: Just to clear up any confusion, Ietsuna is the Vongola Decimo from a parallel world where the Millefiore took over. But, he is canon!Tsuna, albeit more mature and OOC because of the war and his real age (26). I also decided to make him a little more playful, as a façade to keep everyone upbeat during the war.

Tsunayoshi, however, is only Tsunayoshi in name. Otherwise, he has a completely different attitude and personality. And he is the Tsuna training to be Vongola Decimo under Reborn in this parallel world.

By the way, 'Atarashi Mirai e' means 'to a new future', it's the title of the last episode of KHR.

**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Average? Questions, comments, and reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Ciao!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR I only own my ideas.**

* * *

"_Il tempo __è__ un gran medico"_

_Time is a great healer_

* * *

The night was filled with the sharp clangs of steel against steel and the thudding of feet against roofs.

Against the gleam of the moon, two figures were locked in a fierce battle. Neither backed down, no matter how many injuries they sustained, and neither faltered once in their endless flurry of attacks.

"VOOOOIII!" One man with glistening silver hair shouted at the top of his lungs, "Why are you here in Japan? If you don't give me an answer, I'll make sure I squeeze it out of you!"

The other, a boy with a light blue flame dancing over his forehead replied. "I have no need to answer thee."

The man surged forward, his sword arching downward in a slash. It was parried by the boy's boomerang but the force behind the blow sent the boy skidding backwards over the side of the roof they had been standing on.

The boy let out a grunt as one of his hands caught the side of the roof in attempt to save himself from falling to his death.

"Vooooooiii." The man drawled, a predatory grin marring his face. "You're weaker than I thought."

Cursing softly under his breath, the boy grabbed a picture that floated out from his pocket. He stared at the photo with hardened determination. The two smiling faces on the picture stared back up at him. One of a child with fluffy brown hair and wide chocolate colored eyes, the other of a woman with similar features and an identical smile.

'_I cannot lose at a place like this.'_

**{II}**

Hibari had very few problems in life.

One was the fact that illegal activity was happening _right this second_ in _his_ town.

The other…well…was…_this_.

A golden-eyed, brown-haired, scrawny, annoying, pathetic…_thing_.

Yes, thing. Not herbivore, not omnivore, and especially not a carnivore.

It had been well over a week since his appearance. It had been a little over a week since Hibari started to research his background, family ties, anything. It had been a little under one second since Hibari had finally snapped.

Why? One might ask.

Because there was absolutely nothing to be found about the boy who called himself Ietsuna. No blood ties, no school files or transfers, no records whatsoever. Heck! The only other person in the world named Ietsuna, currently, was a baby about five months old who lived in the Okinawa prefecture miles away.

Which is why, one Hibari Kyoya was presently slamming his tonfas into the local yakuza's faces to vent off his anger.

Which is also why the Ietsuna now in discussion was standing on the sidelines, watching Hibari beat the crap out of the yakuza because Hibari wouldn't let a possible threat to Namimori wander around town without his supervision.

"Hibari-senpai, I think that's enough. You'll send them to their deathbeds at this point." Ietsuna called, looking worriedly at the fallen people groaning in pain.

Hibari grunted, threw one last punch in for good measure, and then pocketed his tonfas. He turned, eye twitching to the pathetic herbivore-omnivore-thing (he couldn't decide on which he was) and started walking away. "Hurry up."

Ietsuna fell into step with him, which Hibari found quite annoying, but thankfully kept his mouth shut until they arrived at their destination—Nami-Chu.

For a second, Hibari watched a foreign emotion slide across Ietsuna's face before it was replaced with confusion. "School? What are we doing here?"

"Enrollment."

"What?! But I don't want to go to school. I don't like school very much…" Ietsuna trailed off, looking wearily at the gates.

"Hn." Hibari gave a small shrug and continued walking, heading to the principal's office. With his status, getting Ietsuna in would be easy, tuition, on the other hand, was something else, but that could eventually be taken care of. But the only reason why Hibari was entering Ietsuna into school was because in Nami-Chu, it would be easier to keep an eye on him.

And so, Ietsuna's day had been started.

**{II}**

"Class, we have a transfer student today. Please treat him nicely. Ietsuna-san?"

The door slid open to reveal a short and timid looking blondish-brown-haired boy with shimmering golden eyes. He wrote his name on the board then turned around to give a small bow.

"Hello, my name's Ietsuna, just Ietsuna. Please take care of me."

The class was silent. All eyes swiveled back and forth between Ietsuna and the student, Sawada Tsunayoshi. There was an uncanny resemblance between the two. One brave soul decided to speak.

"Umm, are you by any chance, related to Tsunayoshi here?"

Ietsuna cocked his head to the side. He stared at the aforementioned boy who was scowling at him rather heatedly, then shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. I have no relatives that I know of."

Everyone broke out into hushed whispers, and girls began to talk excitedly to each other about the prospect of the new transfer student having a mysterious past. Looking slightly annoyed, the teacher rapped his hand against his desk to quiet the room.

And with that, the teacher directed Ietsuna to his seat by the window and class started.

Immediately, Ietsuna found the lesson to be extremely boring. He knew all this stuff, probably things he had learned previously and now it was coming back to him. He yawned tiredly. Sleep hadn't come easily over the past few nights—he had been plagued by nightmares yet he could never remember them when he woke. The only dream he could remember was the one of Hibari and his own supposed death.

Laying his head down on the wooden table, Ietsuna zoned out and closed his eyes. Hopefully, he didn't make a bad impression on his classmates. Because for some reason, he dreaded the thought about being bullied.

**{II}**

_Ietsuna found himself being tossed around like a sack of potatoes. He was surrounded by darkness, save for the faint trail of light coming from above. The soft hum of an engine sounded as he was in bounced up and down along a rocky path._

_He was in a type of vehicle, most likely a van, Ietsuna decided, taking in his surroundings. He felt a rough rope dig into his wrists and lock his legs together, and the foul taste of a dirty cloth in his mouth made him want to throw up._

_Kidnapped. He concluded—all the evidence pointed to it after all. But by whom?_

_Trying to stand, Ietsuna pushed himself up against the side of the vehicle for support. He wracked his brain to see if he had anything sharp on him. But when he couldn't recall a thing, he searched the floor. But the only thing that greeted him was a slightly rough surface and an empty sack._

_Sighing, he moved again to see if he could get a hold on his situation. But he froze when he felt the cold metal nose of a gun pressed against his temple. _"Don't move or I'll blast a hole through your head!"

_Ietsuna inwardly cursed himself. How had he not noticed the man sneak up on him? Especially in the closed-off room, the man must have been in here this whole time, watching, biding his time._

_There was a grunt then Ietsuna was roughly shoved out into brightness when a single door swung open. He landed with a painful thump in dirt and grass, soiling his white dress shirt in the process. The cloth around his mouth was removed._

_Two amethyst colored orbs, cold and like chips of purple ice stared down at him. _"My, my. If it isn't Tsunayoshi-kun!"

"Byakuran."_ Ietsuna snarled, literally spitting out the name as if it tasted horrible._

"That's not a nice way to greet an old friend, Tsunayoshi-kun."_ Byakuran chastised, a fake smile spreading across his face. _"But I'll let that slide for today."_ He clapped his hands cheerily_. "Now down to business, as you can see, I had a few of my men…escort…you here to my mansion. We have a couple of important matters we _must_ discuss."

"I have no such business talking to someone like you."_ Ietsuna spat, glaring viciously. _"Now let me go!"

"Oh no, you know I could never do that, Tsunayoshi-kun,"_ Byakuran said in a sickeningly sweet voice. _"The Tri-Ni-Set depends on you, me and Yuni. Cooperation is a must."

"I'll never work with you, Byakuran. The day you decided to kill my men, my friends, and my family, was the day you ended any possibility of forming an alliance with my Famiglia."

_Byakuran pouted, though behind his happy-go-lucky exterior, a cold rage emanated from him, which shone for a split second when his violet eyes opened to stare at Ietsuna darkly. _"Then I guess I'll have to take more…extreme measures."

_Snapping his fingers, five men appeared and carried the bound and re-gagged Ietsuna away. Ietsuna made sure to memorize the way they were taking him until a man noticed what he was doing and firmly placed something over his eyes. After what seemed to have been hours of trekking, Ietsuna was finally tossed into a dark room and locked behind large steel bars._

_He must have stayed in the dungeon for weeks or months—it was impossible to tell. But he wouldn't give in to the torture; after all, Reborn had put him through much, much worse._

_When the bars of the cage finally swung open, Ietsuna lifted his head but was blinded by the bright light shining in front of him. After blinking rapidly to clear his vision, he caught sight of a familiar mop of silver hair and another of dark brown before everything went black._

**{II}**

"…na…"

"…Tsuna."

"Ietsuna."

Ietsuna was jolted awake from his dream after being roughly shaken. He immediately jumped to his feet and wildly looked around. His hand slid to his right pant's pocket to pull out something but stopped when he realized there was nothing there but air.

"Woah!" A voice said sounding surprised.

Ietsuna whirled towards the sound to find two smiling hazel-colored eyes staring curiously at him. "Who're you?"

"Me?" The boy pointed to himself. "Yamamoto Takeshi, nice to meet you. I'm your classmate see? I sit next to you."

When Ietsuna glanced down, indeed, he observed that the boy sat next to him. Huh, he never noticed.

"It's almost lunch, so I though I should wake you up. It looked like you were having a nightmare, are you ok?" The boy asked, his face looking genuinely inquisitive.

Ietsuna shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Yeah, I don't really remember it anyways."

"Haha, I guess that's a good thing?"

Ietsuna looked at the boy strangely. "Maybe, maybe not."

Yamamoto waved his hand airily. "You want to have lunch with me? I know a good spot."

Nodding, Ietsuna followed the boy, Yamamoto out, making sure to bring his bento. He was led onto the roof where they both sat down and opened their lunches. Not soon after, a few more kids joined them.

"Yamamoto!" Someone said, sounding angry, "Do you know the definition of waiting?"

"Haha," Yamamoto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to eat with Ietsuna here."

Two pairs of eyes turned to him, one emerald green and the other a soft chocolate. He recognized the latter's as the boy he had fought the other day or two. Tuna-something, wasn't it?

"Hello." Ietsuna inclined his head cordially. "It's nice to properly meet you." He held out a hand for a handshake, disregarding the fact that he had, technically, met one of them before. It didn't hurt to start anew, did it?

But Tsunayoshi apparently didn't forgive easily seeing how he sniffed and crossed his arms, looking at Ietsuna's open hand distastefully. "I don't see what all the fuss is about. You and me look nothing alike. And I'll pay you back for that one time." Beside him, the boy with green eyes watched quietly, but his mouth was set in a firm scowl.

"C'mon Gokudera, let's eat somewhere else." Tsunayohi said, casting one last glance at the other two. "I don't feel like eating up here today."

Gokudera nodded his head dutifully and trailed after the brunet. But his gaze lingered a little longer than it should have on Ietsuna and Yamamoto who were sitting together on the roof, eating lunch. Then, he turned his head and walked away, shutting the door behind him.

Ietsuna turned towards Yamamoto and gave him a questioning look.

Yamamoto shook his head. "That was Sawada Tsunayoshi and Gokudera Hayato, two of my…friends. Don't mind Tsuna, he's not usually like that."

Ietsuna frowned at the way Yamamoto had said the word 'friends.' The way he said it made him think that they weren't friends at all. And the boy Tsunayoshi? Not usually like that his butt! The boy acted like a spoiled brat through and through.

Staring up into the brilliant blue sky, Ietsuna sighed. This day was filled with so many strange things.

**{II}**

Reborn watched as his idiotic student turned on his heel and disappeared down the stairway with the Smoking Bomb walking at least a foot behind him. He frowned at his actions. Reborn had arrived in Namimori about a month earlier and Tsunayoshi had acted like an idiot.

Now, a month later, he still acted like one. Reborn himself had been trying as much as he could to get rid of the boy's stuck-up attitude, but all his attempts had ended in failure. Nono would be disappointed in him. It would be the first time he had failed the only man he respected.

Balling his fists in controlled anger, Reborn turned to watch the mysterious boy Ietsuna chat with his student's Rain Guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi. He found it strange, ever since the boy had stepped through Nami-Chu's gates. The kid naturally attracted others to him, it seemed.

Yamamoto Takeshi himself had picked up a conversation with him and then decided to eat lunch together. Last time Reborn checked, Yamamoto was extremely distrustful of others because of his fame. _'Although,'_ Reborn rubbed his chin thoughtfully, _'as a new student, Ietsuna wouldn't know about Yamamoto's position as the school's baseball star.'_

Shaking his head, Reborn resumed his careful examination of the boy Ietsuna. The striking resemblance that the boy and his student shared was suspicious. Could the boy have been sent to infiltrate the Vongola by replacing the heir-in-training? It was possible, but from the looks of it, the mission had failed.

'_So,'_ Reborn concluded, _'the boy is either a threat or just nobody. But its best if he's labeled as a threat for now.'_ After all, Reborn was a naturally skeptical person. And it was a rule never to underestimate an opponent.

Stroking his partner, Leon, Reborn sat down on the roof and continued to watch the pair. He noticed Ietsuna starting to shift uncomfortably. Could it be that the boy could tell that Reborn was watching him? Reborn scoffed at the idea. Impossible.

But when Ietsuna began shooting glances behind him in the exact spot where Reborn was hiding, the baby grew increasingly frustrated. What was with this boy named Ietsuna? He was determined to find out.

**{II}**

When he arrived at the Hibari mansion, Ietsuna settled down at a table and started on his homework. Hibari himself had gone off somewhere, beginning his evening patrols of Namimori, leaving Ietsuna alone to himself.

He set his pencil down with a mischievous smirk. His week had been him cooped up in a boring old house with only antiques or paintings to keep him company. Now, Hibari had finally left him to his own devices while he patrolled, instead of taking the boy with him like he usually had done (albeit reluctantly). Ietsuna had a feeling it was a way for the raven-haired teen to keep an eye on him.

But now, Ietsuna thought, looking around, he could go anywhere he wanted as long as Hibari didn't catch him. Which also meant he was going to explore town a little more. Maybe even buy a couple of things to keep himself busy. It wouldn't hurt, would it?

Nodding to himself, Ietsuna slipped out of the mansion and walked down the lonely street that led to downtown.

It took ten or so minutes to reach the halfway point, a small park, Ietsuna noted, sitting down on a bench to rest his legs. Not that he was tired but he wanted to enjoy his stroll and take in all the surroundings. Hibari never stopped to admire anything. The only thing he did admire was his handiwork after beating up the Mighty Disturbers of Peace.

Ietsuna wondered what would happen if he pulled a prank. Would the prefect go crazy and hunt him down? It seemed the most likely answer. He snickered at the thought of the infamous Hibari Kyoya, tearing up his town with his eyes alight with flames of fury and a forked tongue poking out of his mouth in order to find one little troublemaker.

A troublemaker by the name Ietsuna.

Standing up, he continued his way to the crowd of shops and stores, knowing the perfect place to go to if he wanted to put a certain plan into action. The toy store.

Another ten minutes later found Ietsuna walking through an open door. Inside, a treasure trove of colorful gimmicks and gadgets stood proudly, lined up on shelves with price tags hanging off them, waiting to be bought.

Ietsuna gravitated to where colorful balloons hung, and picked up a pack of water balloons. Next came a couple of air horns, a lock, tacks, and several other trinkets and knick-knacks that he knew would come in handy later on.

After leaving the toy store, Ietsuna ventured over to the pharmacy where he collected a series of powders for a top-secret experiment that he would only reveal _after _his victim fell for it.

Next came the food market. One bottle of pepper, some mustard, and a package of Oreos later, he was back out the door. But just as he was exiting the building, he bumped into a woman.

"Ah, sorry about that." Ietsuna said, rubbing his head sheepishly. "Here, I can help you with those."

The woman stooped down to collect a few items that had fallen out of her bags. "Oh dear, it's fine." She laughed, her brown eyes shining cheerfully. "I've got it under control." She continued to talk, none of it of much importance so Ietsuna found himself zoning out and instead staring at the woman's features.

He frowned. This person seemed familiar.

"—fun, but sometimes…" She trailed off. "Oh my, are you crying? Did I say something wrong?"

"Huh?" Ietsuna brought a hand up to his cheek and felt a tiny trail of tears running down his face. "I-I…"

The woman waited patiently, looking sincerely worried.

"I don't know." He finished, wiping the tears away in embarrassment. "But it's not you're fault. I think there was something in my eye, that's all."

Smiling, the woman gave a small bow. "Well, I'm Sawada Nana, nice to meet you!"

"My name is Ietsuna, it's nice to meet you too."

"You know," Nana started, "you look a lot like my son, that's strange. I was so sure that he was the only one with that wild hair of his. Ah! You must go to the same school, don't you?" she said, looking at the uniform Ietsuna was wearing.

Ietsuna paused, piecing together his clues. Sawada…Sawada… "Oh! You're Sawada Tsunayoshi's mother!"

"So you do know my little Tsu-kun!" Nana squealed happily. "Please do take care of him. He worries me sometimes, going off for days without coming home, and when he does, he has all these bruises like he's been in a fight." She shook her head in slight exasperation. "Tsu-kun is growing up so fast."

Ietsuna nodded his head because he thought it would be the polite thing to do. Her son Tsunayoshi didn't strike him as the type to allow someone to "take care of him." And he had a feeling that Tsunayoshi's disappearance from his house on various occasions was due to the fact that he hung out in…bad…places. That would definitely describe why he came home with injuries.

"Well, I best am going now." Nana waved, "Dinner doesn't serve itself, does it?"

Ietsuna rubbed his head. "No, I suppose it doesn't."

Nana giggled, "You should come over to our house some time, Ietsuna-kun, I'm sure you and Tsu-kun will get along perfectly!" With one last wave, he headed off, carrying her bulging bags of groceries with her.

Ietsuna frowned. His chest hurt. But the pain was soon forgotten when he looked down at his own bags of goodies. It was time to put his plans into action…

**{II}**

Class started without a hitch. The teacher was casually reading out of his book as the class listened and took notes. Ietsuna smiled. Usually teachers didn't sit behind a desk and instead stood for the duration of class in front of a podium and chalkboard. But for the last few days, Ietsuna had wheeled in an adjustable chair, much to the teachers' relief. That was only so it wouldn't look suspicious if it suddenly appeared one day.

After giving the class and teachers a few days to get used to the chair being there, Ietsuna stuck an air horn under it, sticking it to the single leg with duct tape, before school started. He had that advantage because Hibari always brought him along in the mornings to arrive at school early (he claimed that the hallways had to be patrolled before the students and teachers arrived).

For the next hour, Ietsuna had sat in his seat, watching as students filtered in and out of the room until the bell rang, warning that classes were starting. Every seat was taken except for the teacher's rolling chair.

Ietsuna waited in anticipation. When the teacher finally got tired of standing, he walked over to the chair and sat down. The horn went off with an earsplitting honk.

Girlish screams and "manly" cries of shock rang through the air. The teacher jumped up in surprise, looked around, decided that whatever the sound was just some strange occurrence, and sat back down. The horn went off with another obnoxious honk.

The whole while, Ietsuna looked upon the scene in amusement. He didn't show it outwardly, of course. If anyone were keen enough, they would suspect him as the perpetrator. Instead, he mentally rolled on the floor in laughter.

Suddenly, the door was flung open with a loud crack and the school prefect and a handful of his Disciplinary Committee personnel came stomping in. Hibari, Ietsuna discovered, looked extremely _pissed_.

Kusakabe Tetsuya, the second-in-command of the Disciplinary Committee, and Ietsuna's current tea partner (Hibari refused to have tea time with anyone because it was considered crowding, but Ietsuna was determined to make the aloof teen sit with them at least once), walked up to the rapidly paling teacher.

"What's going on here?" He demanded, looking almost as cross as Hibari.

"I-I h-have n-no clue." The teacher managed to say, glancing back and forth between Kusakabe and the prefect in fear. "I-I sat d-down, and s-suddenly t-there was a-a loud noise."

Ietsuna snickered under his breath. He had nothing against this teacher, but it was hilarious to see him act like _this_.

Unfortunately for Ietsuna, Hibari's sharp hearing immediately picked up on the quiet laughter coming from a certain boy sitting by the window. Sending a bone-chilling glare over to the obviously suspicious boy. He even had the nerve to whistle a tune! An extremely annoying herbivorous tune.

Stalking over to the boy, Hibari slammed a tonfa down onto his desk, splintering the wood as easily as if he were pounding a loaf of bread. "I'll bite you to death for disrupting the peace."

"Woah, woah." Ietsuna said, pushing back from his desk and holding up his hands in a placating manner. "Who said I did it? What information do you have to back up your claim?"

The herbivores around them started to close in like a pack of starving animals…, which they were. Hibari growled menacingly. As if on cue, the herbivores were sent scattering away in fear of the prefect's wrath. That was better. He swung his tonfa again, making sure that it would smack the cheeky boy in the face. And hard.

His attack missed.

Ietsuna smiled and gave a knowing wink. "Can't catch me."

The student body gasped at Ietsuna's guts to directly take on the fearsome prefect.

Hibari swung again, this time with both of his tonfas. But each time, they passed through empty air. Interesting. Of course, Hibari didn't label him an omnivore for nothing.

A grin split Ietsuna's fourteen-year-old features as he brought up one of his hands to catch a tonfa. He twisted it until Hibari's grip slackened. He pulled it from Hibari's grasp and slid it into his hand, giving it a few experimental swipes.

Taking the few seconds that the boy wasn't paying attention as an opportunity to attack, Hibari whacked his tonfa on Ietsuna's head and stood back in satisfaction as a nice red bump rose up from that fluffy hair of his.

"Ow, ow, ow." Ietsuna complained, dropping the tonfa—much to Hibari's ire—and clutching his aching head in effort to block out the pain. "What was that for, Hibari-senpai?"

"For disturbing the peace." He replied gruffly, jerking his head towards the door as a signal for the rest of the Disciplinary Committee members to head out now that their job had been completed.

"But I said I didn't do it!" Ietsuna protested, looking at the prefect in annoyance. _Of course I did, but I'm never telling you that._

Hibari didn't reply and settled for making a perfectly blank face as he exited the classroom, Kusakabe following him with the air horn in his hand.

No one spoke until at least ten minutes had passed. Then the room erupted in whispers and hushed conversations.

"Do you think Ietsuna-san did it?"

_Yes, I think so._

"Naw, he's not the type."

_Oh how you're wrong._

"Then who did?"

_Me, duh._

"Dunno. But for all we know, it would even be a prank from another class, upperclassmen have a tendency to do those things."

_Why don't you go find out._

"Hey guys, why don't we just ask Ietsuna himself?"

_Why don't you?_

"Didn't you hear him already? He said he didn't do it."

_No dip Sherlock._

"Yeah, and I don't think he'd ever lie to Hibari-san's face."

_People these days._

Over the clamor, Ietsuna raised his hand awkwardly, waving it a little to get the teacher's attention. "Umm Sensei? Can I get a new desk?"

**{II}**

"Fight me."

"No."

"You don't have a say in this matter, Omnivore."

"Would you quit calling me that? I mean, yes, I am an omnivore—pretty much all humans are—but seriously? My name is Ietsuna."

Hibari graciously ignored the comment and chose instead to punch the living daylights out of him with his tonfas. Much to his frustration, though, his target decided to avoid all his attacks _while_ doing his homework.

"Fight me." Hibari growled, glaring holes in the back of Ietsuna's head.

"Must I repeat myself?"

Hibari twitched. His blood was boiling, his body itching for a fight. And a good one at that—he hadn't found a good enough opponent since that pineapple-freak had invaded _his_ town. To top it off, that was _ages_ ago (less than a week). The annoying herbivore wasn't worth beating up. Even though he showed potential strength when fighting the pineapple-freak, it seemed like he would hit his max sooner or later.

The annoying herbivore was lacking in something, though Hibari couldn't exactly tell what. Whatever the case, wherever the annoying herbivore was, was where the baby was and Hibari wasn't willing to hunt them down when he could take a nice long nap instead. Eventually they'd come to him. Not to mention it would save him the trouble, time and effort.

In the meantime, he did have a plaything at his disposal. The only problem was that it didn't wasn't to play—only petty games like tea party. Hibari shivered at the thought.

"Tomorrow at 7 o'clock sharp in the gym."

Hibari paused his train of thought. What?

Ietsuna glanced teasingly back at the prefect's stilled figure. "Must I repeat myself?"

Hibari glared then pocketed his tonfas and walked away. When the first opportunity came, he'd make sure to kick the boy out his front door and place him in the nearest—and cheapest, mind you—apartment he could find, and wish the annoying boy good riddance.

He nearly smiled at the prospect.

So for the next latter half of the day and early part of the morning, Hibari patrolled Namimori in silent anticipation. He could literally feel the sharp crunch of shattered bones beneath his tonfas, taste the metallic tang of fresh blood in his mouth, and see the wild fear surfacing in his prey's eyes.

When the time slowly neared the 6:45 mark, Hibari swiftly made his way over to the school's gym where he would wait for the next fifteen minutes. To be tardy was unacceptable, even for him.

Usually he didn't like to wait for anyone or anything. But today would have to be considered an exception—his long-anticipated battle was finally here. Irritably, Hibari glanced at the clock hanging off the wall. It was already one minute past 7. The omnivore was late.

The door swished open.

"Yo!" Ietsuna saluted, an annoying grin on his face. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I had some stuff to take care of."

Stuff? Hibari wondered what the omnivore had been up too. It wasn't like he had any jobs before school—students weren't allowed to have part-time jobs. He shrugged the thought away. It was probably of no importance.

"So," Ietsuna began. "Shall we get down to business?"

Silver flashed as Hibari whipped out his tonfas. Just as he was preparing to attack, the omnivore held up his hands.

"Hey, hey, slow down. Who said we were going to fight?"

Wait, what?

The omnivore—scratch that, he was an herbivore now if he didn't have the guts to fight—scratched his head nervously. "I mean, if you want to fight, we can but I'm not really in the mood."

Hibari didn't need to hear another word. The omnivore—yes, he decided to call him that again—looked lax, his hands in his pockets and his body slouched and careless. Easy prey. Almost too easy. Something was off.

Hibari stopped running but kept his arms up in a guarded position. His grey eyes carefully analyzed the situation. Was he hiding something in his pockets? No, they looked empty apart from the hands stuffed in there. Did he set a trap? He did say he had business to take care of beforehand. Was that when…?

"Hm?" Ietsuna looked puzzled, "Is something wrong?"

Hibari just glared in response. It must be a trap. The omnivore was acting too innocently, like he was clueless. That was suspicious he must be hiding something. Whatever the case, Hibari didn't have the patience to find out.

Again, he charged. He thrust his leg forward in attempt to catch the omnivore off balance; it worked, and sent the boy crashing towards the floor.

"Ouch, Hibari-senpai, I think you broke my nose." Ietsuna looked up, one hand covering half of his face, trying to stem the small trickle of red coming from it.

Hibari couldn't care less but the urge to fight had suddenly left him. He didn't know why, so he gave the omnivore a parting smack with his tonfas, which seemed to be becoming a routine for them, and walked away.

As soon as Hibari had left, Ietsuna stood up, tossing an empty ketchup packet into the trashcan, and wiped his hands across his pants. "Well then, I'm going to go take a shower."

**{II}**

Hibari twitched. Then he sneezed. Then a chill went up his spine. Then he scratched. His entire body was itchy. Was it another one of those trident mosquitoes from that perverted doctor? It was a possibility. When he saw him next, he'd make sure to properly bite him to death.

Despite the urge to scratch, Hibari ignored it and entered the Disciplinary Committee's headquarters for a nap. When he woke up, perhaps he wouldn't be itchy anymore.

Lying down on the couch, he closed his eyes. For several minutes he lay there, unable to fall asleep because of the annoying itching. He twitched again. Whoever did this would pay with their life.

"_Sorry to keep you waiting, I had some stuff to take care of."_

Hibari frowned. The omnivore was late by a minute because of secret business. It must've been him. It had to be. In fact, Hibari was certain of it. He wouldn't put it past a guy like him to have pulled a prank like this. No one else would have the guts to do so.

Just then, the loud blare of an air horn rang out through the school building. Again.

Grey eyes snapped open with the intent to kill. He stalked over to the omnivore's classroom and thrust aside the door, tonfas raised…and got soaked in water, an empty bucket clattering to the floor.

He stood there for several seconds, blinking, until a chalkboard eraser toppled down and landed on his head, coating him in white powder.

The teacher fainted, most likely due to the trauma from last time.

The class gasped and some even had the nerve to giggle, which Hibari found annoying.

The omnivore struggled to hide a smile, which Hibari found even more infuriating.

For the third time, he twitched then scratched his arm. The class erupted in even more laughter.

He couldn't tell if he was more frustrated, angry, or itchy. Actually, now that he thought about it, he wasn't itchy anymore. Despite that, he decided that the omnivore would pay for it later.

That night, when he arrived at home, he found a steaming hot plate of hamburger steak lying on the counter. With it lay a note with a poor drawing of the omnivore's smiling face reading "Gotcha!"

**{II}**

After a long, exhausting day at school, Ietsuna was still working his butt off, carrying boxes up and down stairs, bringing them to storerooms, and fetching random items. It was all punishment that Hibari had dished out for earlier, although Ietsuna had a feeling that this wasn't the end of it. But, it was for now, just as he set down the stack of boxes that held a bunch of sports supplies.

With that, he walked out and washed his dusty hands at the row on water fountains behind the school building. He casually shook his hands then stuck them into his pockets, strolling away. But before he exited the school, he saw a boy stagger out from behind a few bushes and fall heavily against a tree.

Ietsuna recognized him as the boy from the other day who followed Tsunayoshi like an obedient puppy. How did he get beat up like that?

Curious, Ietsuna inched closer to the teen as if he was a hostile animal, which he could be when around Tsunayoshi.

"Hey," he began, "you okay?"

He was answered with an angry glare.

"I'm taking that as a no." Ietsuna shrugged, stepping closer and putting a hand on the teen's shoulder, which was immediately slapped away and followed by a scorching glare.

"I don't need your help." The boy said gruffly, rubbing a spot of blood from his mouth and turning to sluggishly stagger away.

Huffing in slight annoyance, Ietsuna watched him leave, just in time to catch a fluff of brown hair disappear behind the brick gates. He had a feeling he knew who it was, and his was suspicion confirmed when he heard a jeer accompanied by a series of laughs.

Unfortunately, there was no reply or attempt to counter the comments. And for some reason, Ietsuna found it irritating, it ticked him off to see people take advantage of a situation and exploit it just for fun, only for their own entertainment.

Well, it wasn't like he had any obligations to anyone after he had finished Hibari's tasks…except his pile of homework that he had been putting off for a few days. But that could wait a little longer. He smiled; sneaking up to the school gates and silently peering through the bars to catch a glance at what exactly was happening.

Tsunayoshi and a band of kids had grouped together and surrounded the silver-haired teen and were throwing nasty comments at him, ones that Ietsuna couldn't quite make out, but could tell they were brushing a hurtful subject for the teen. He leaned in closer.

"Hey runt, did your Daddy finally decide to kick you out of the family? Is that why you're in Japan instead of Italy?"

"Yeah, you should tell us. After all, we're _buddies_, aren't we?"

"Wait, you're not actually part of the family, are you? An illegitimate child, born to a low-life woman and a powerful man, what a disgrace. Why weren't you disowned right away?"

A warning growl came from the subject of their hostility, and the teen pulled out a stick of…dynamite?

Ietsuna felt sickened by their attitudes. People these days had no respect for others' personal matters.

"Nice try, but those things won't work on us anymore. We came up with some safety measures against you a while back. Why don't we try them out?"

Instinctively, the teen threw his dynamite. At the same time, one boy decided to throw a rock at the teen's head but missing, instead leaving a long cut across his forearm. The action threw off the teen's aim and he dropped the explosives in front of him, seconds away from exploding.

The word danger was blazing through his mind, but Ietsuna could care less as he threw himself forward and barreled into the teen, shoving him out of the way. The gang, on the other hand had made a mad dash away behind the safety of _very reliable_ looking trees.

The explosion rocked the earth, although no damage had been done to anyone in the area. He breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close call.

Ietsuna stared at the group of boys looking extremely scared for people who had been so confident before, and felt slightly affronted by their actions. He wasn't an expert on anything in this town, not after residing in it for a week or two, and it wasn't his place to intrude on personal matters (although this certainly wasn't a private matter at all), but for some reason his mind was telling him that he should step in. Though, Ietsuna thought, he didn't have to listen to his mind, his heart knew it was wrong, which was all the proof he needed to intervene.

"Hey, hey," He began, "don't you guys have any better things to do? Homework for example. Actually, forget what I just said. You all look like dropouts, so I seriously doubt that."

Tsunayoshi's eyes narrowed. "You. Come here to make laughing stock out of me again?"

"Woah, woah now." Ietsuna held up his hands placating, "Don't go jumping to conclusions here. And," he added as an afterthought, "I think you're making laughing stock out of him." He jabbed a finger in the teen's direction.

"So?" Tsunayoshi shrugged as if was a different matter entirely, "There's nothing wrong about it. All I'm doing is putting a dog in his place. Dogs are loyal to their masters, and if they show a hint of defiance, punishment should be dealt. Right guys?"

Behind him, the group of teens laughed in agreement.

Ietsuna was offended; he liked dogs, especially the faithful kinds that were partners for life. But he didn't like Chihuahuas. Their beady little eyes, their high-pitched bark, and most of all their painful bite—he shivered at the thought. Silently, he reminded himself that Chihuahuas were just fierce on the outside but cute little angels on the inside. Maybe they were like Tsunayoshi in a way.

"So, I heard Reborn was looking for you. Something about training… it sounded quite fun, now that I think about it."

Tsunayoshi, much to Ietsuna's amusement, blanched slightly, but quickly regained his composure and sent a glare at the other. "How do you know about Reborn?" He asked suspiciously.

Ietsuna's lips quirked up in a crooked grin. "Let's just say I have my resources." He noted the uncomfortable shift in the silver-teen's stance and the wary gaze that was turned to him. He could hardly blame the boy, despite how Tsunayoshi treated him; the teen was still (hesitantly) protective of him, looking out for potential assassination attempts.

Ietsuna distantly wondered why exactly he knew about assassination attempts on Tsunayoshi, but pushed it aside.

"Hey boys," Tsunayoshi said, a blank look on his face, "I'm quite bored, how does a new toy sound? Treat it however you please, I'll be content to sit back and watch."

This wasn't going good, even with Ietsuna's skill at calming people down when he wanted to. In fact, he should have known that this conversation would end in destruction. Tsunayoshi rubbed him the wrong way, and he was positive he did the same to Tsunayoshi.

It took three or four sounds of knuckles cracking to knock common sense into Ietsuna. Letting his survival instincts take over, he jumped around a punch, snagged the silver-haired teen's arm and ran away from the furious jeers and taunting screams.

Surprisingly, Ietsuna didn't get as much resistance as he thought he would receive from his luggage. When he finally stopped running and turned to face the teen, he was met by two guarded green eyes. "What do you want?"

"Nothing?" Ietsuna replied, "you looked like you needed the help, so I helped you."

"I told you I didn't need it." Came the blunt rebuke.

"Sorry, I'm not the type that listens to excuses." He winked playfully, but it had little effect on the temperamental teen. He cleared his throat. "Do you want me to treat those wounds? I'm pretty adept at bandaging injuries like that."

"I can do it myself." The boy scowled, turning away. He began to walk towards an apartment complex that looked to be a long walk away. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't seem to shake off the curious boy who had taken to clinging to him like a shadow.

"By the way, isn't your name Gokudera?"

Gokudera grunted. Beside him, Ietsuna (who, mind you, looked extremely similar to the boss but had a completely different personality) frowned. The look that crossed the boy's face almost made Gokudera stop in his tracks. It reminded him of what he had been like as a child—lonely. He silently wondered what would make such a cheerful person sad.

A second later, Ietsuna's expression decidedly changed to a smile, replacing the previous emotion completely. Gokudera felt a pang of sadness squeeze his heart. Long ago, he had been beaten by the boss and declared undying allegiance to him, following the rules of the Mafia code. He had done it willingly, but over the time he had spent with the boss, he began to regret his decision.

Tsunayoshi didn't see him as a companion or friend, after all, no matter how much Gokudera wanted to be seen as an equal. He had been on the receiving end of plenty of glares for the point to get across. Not once had he seen the boss smile, so when he saw a smile on the face of someone so familiar, it hurt.

While the silver-haired teen was deep in his own thought, Ietsuna watched him carefully. Something told him that the teen was unhappy. An idea suddenly struck him. Brilliant, it was, he almost wanted to pat his back at the sheer brilliance of the plan.

"Hey, Gokudera, can I show you something?"

The teen's face immediately shut down and a carefully guarded look made Ietsuna wince. "Leave me alone, you might have helped me back there, but that doesn't mean I hold any debts to you."

"Too bad." Ietsuna stuck out his tongue and took Gokudera's hands in his own, then raced off to who-knows-where.

'_What am I, being kidnapped?'_ Gokudera thought bitterly as the energetic boy who refused to leave him to his own life pulled him along with a startling amount of power. Though for some reason, Gokudera couldn't say no to the boy. There was something about him that made him likeable (no matter how annoying he seemed on the outside). Maybe it was the fact that he didn't care about his shady birth that made Gokudera warm up to him (he knew the boy had overheard the one-sided conversation earlier). Or maybe it was the fact that he could see himself following someone kind and optimistic like Ietsuna. Like a boss and his faithful right-hand man.

**{II}**

"It's nothing special." Ietsuna murmured, his gaze traveling across the scattered clouds that blotted the azure sky. "But it's calming, don't you think?"

Gokudera merely shrugged, but nevertheless joined the small game of cloud watching. He hated to admit it, but he liked Ietsuna over Tsunayoshi. When he had left Italy on Reborn's request, he had hoped to find someone who accepted him. He didn't get what he wanted. But now…(here, Gokudera snuck a look at the boy resting beside him).

Gokudera began to inwardly scold himself for getting all sappy. He was Smokin' Bomb Hayato, d*ammit! And this kid could even be a potential assassin, sent to kill the boss. He even showed hints about his knowledge of the Mafia.

"So," Ietsuna said, "It's pretty late isn't it? I guess we should be heading home now. Hibari-senpai will kill me if I go past my curfew."

Ietsuna stayed with Hibari? Gokudera wondered why anyone would have the guts to do that. Then again, it was Ietsuna he was talking about. Maybe he'd talk to Reborn about it next time they saw each other. He was curious about Ietsuna, and he was sure that Reborn wouldn't let anyone enter Namimori without a couple once-overs. Neither would Hibari for that matter.

If the boy were any sort of threat, wouldn't he have been taken care of already?

"Gokudera." Ietsuna whined, waving his hand in front of his face, "Are you even listening?"

"No." He replied, turning away.

Ietsuna only sighed as if he had dealt with people like Gokudera hundreds of times in the past. "It's almost seven, and I was supposed to reach Hibari-senpai's house hours ago. And it's not healthy for your wounds to go untreated for a long time."

Gokudera scoffed and sat up. "I never asked you to follow me around. You could have left whenever you wanted."

"Then why didn't you leave if you're so annoyed with me?" Ietsuna pointed out.

Gokudera had the decency to blush, but hid his face before the other could see it. He wanted to say _'I had fun,_' but instead said, "You didn't let me." Which was half-true because Ietsuna towed him all over the place.

This time, Ietsuna didn't walk after him. Gokudera couldn't tell if he was relieved or not, but he felt a twang of disappointment. It was quickly crushed when he reminded himself that the boy was a danger. He shot a small look back where Ietsuna was lying in the grass, a soft breeze ruffling his light brown hair. He looked so small and terribly lonely.

Ietsuna noticed Gokudera staring and turned his head to stare at the retreating teen. They locked eyes for a few seconds before Gokudera broke contact and continued on his way. He swore those golden-brown eyes had flashed orange but told himself it was the trick of the light. The sun was setting after all. He could have stared into the orbs of liquid fire for eternity, but he had stopped himself when he saw an emotion that didn't belong in eyes so young.

He was one of few who could recognize that look, being a part of the Mafia and staying alive to experience plenty of it himself. Gokudera congratulated Ietsuna for hiding so well up until now, but it was something that would never leave the eyes of those, which it possessed.

That boy had seen death.

**{II}**

Ietsuna yawned. Was boredness a word? He didn't think so, but if he could make it one, then he would. Because that was what he was now, bored with boredness. He was supposed to be sleeping, but he couldn't sleep. Something was keeping him awake.

So, he slipped out of his bed, rolling up the futon and placing it neatly to the side. Quietly, he changed into a jacket and pants, then tiptoed out of guest room and headed for the exit. Underneath his feet, the floorboards creaked loudly. Ietsuna held his breath, hoping he didn't wake anyone up. He silently counted to 10, and let out a breath of relief when Hibari didn't come storming out of his room. Leaning against the wall, he toed on a pair of shoes and softly closed the door behind him.

High above, the moon was just a sharp line, giving off little light, and the stars were hidden behind a curtain of clouds. The night was dark.

Ietsuna walked down the street, small pebbles shifting under his weight, making soft clinking noises. He paused. No, it wasn't the rocks making those sounds it was something else.

Turning his face to the night sky, Ietsuna squinted into the far north where a few condos were located. If he remembered correctly, that was where Gokudera, the boy from earlier lived. He started running in that direction, the premonition of danger seeming to come from that area.

As he got closer, the rings grew louder. He recognized it—it was the steel of a sword against another. _'A familiar sound,'_ Ietsuna thought with a small shudder.

He was panting now, his breath coming in rough gasps. For some reason he was scared, the reason was unclear. On any normal day, the run would hardly be a problem. But not tonight.

A loud explosion broke through the stillness of the night. Beside him, as the dust cleared, lay a boy around his own age holding a blade-like-boomerang. On his forehead, a blue flame flickered gently.

The boy groaned, sitting up painfully. When he opened his eyes, they were a clear blue, like the ocean. Immediately, they swiveled to the side, widening with surprise.

"Sawada-dono! Why is thou here?"

"Sawada-dono? I don't think I'm the person right person, my name's Ietsuna."

The boy looked troubled, taking a picture out of his pocket and looking back and forth between it, and Ietsuna.

"VOOOIII! What are you doing, scum? Have you given up?" A voice called out roughly, its owner appearing shortly after against the paltry light of the moon. He had long silver hair, and a fierce scowl. Strapped to his arm was a sword.

"C'mon, brat, you know you can't win. Hand over the rings already."

"Ne'r shall I give them to thee!" The boy shot back, standing up.

The other glanced to the teen next to the boy. "Voii, who's this? Not some pathetic help is it?"

"Sawada-dono has naught to do with this. Leave thee alone."

"Sawada? Isn't that the name of that External Adviser scum? Is this his son?" The man grinned, "Quite the lucky day, isn't it? I find trash hiding all over the place." He held up his sword, pointing the tip to Ietsuna's throat.

"Stop!" The boy rushed forward, his weapon raised.

"Out of my way, trash!" The man growled, easily kicking the boy aside, sending him flying into a brick wall.

"Hey!" Ietsuna shouted, "If I'm what you want, I dare you to catch me!" With that, he ran, using the time the man's focus was averted from him to the boy to his advantage and escape.

"Vooii! Come back here you trash!" The man yelled, waving his sword around angrily, using his longer legs to catch up to the teen easily.

He made a quick jab with his weapon, piercing Ietsuna's arm, and then jerked it to the side to make the gash longer.

Ietsuna gasped as the pain hit him, stumbling forward but quickly regaining his balance. But his foe had cornered him against a wall, leaving him with no ways to escape any more.

"If I kill scum like you," The man began, "then Boss will claim the title as the Vongola's Decimo."

"What are you talking about?" Ietsuna stalled, "Vongola? Decimo? Ten clams? What's that?"

"Oh? You don't know?" The man grinned viciously. "Too bad, you'll die without knowing why." He raised his sword and thrust it into Ietsuna's leg, pinning him to the wall behind him.

He winced, but took the sword with both his hands and yanked it out of his leg. It hurt, but for some reason, Ietsuna felt as if his body was almost immune to the pain. Grinning slightly, Ietsuna came up with an (slightly) ingenious plan that would give him an extra few seconds to escape when needed.

He slowly slid his two hands down the blade until the tip was hidden between them, then he pressed it down onto the ground, making it look like he had bent it.

"Voi, voi brat, what did you do to my sword?"

"Nothing much." Ietsuna smirked, glaring defiantly and refusing to give his opponent the satisfaction of seeing his fear. But unfortunately for him, the man took it the wrong way, which also meant his chances of escaping, had once again dropped to zero.

"Vooii," he said, leaning down so they were nose to nose. He roughly twisted his sword so it cut Ietsuna's hands, making him release the blade. The man glanced at it, frowning when he noticed it was perfectly straight. "Why aren't you scared? Most scum would have wet their pants by now."

Ietsuna didn't answer, annoying the other even more. The man looked pissed as he took his sword and slid the sharp blade across the teen's chest, leaving a deep wound behind.

Ietsuna took an automatic step backwards, but slipped in a puddle of water, his legs giving way underneath him. He landed with a splash, his back hitting the wall behind him, forcing the breath from his lungs. He felt the water seep through his clothes and shivered.

"Frightened yet?" The man sneered.

Looking up, Ietsuna brought his hand to his face to wipe away a small droplet of water that was threatening to fall into his eye. Then he froze.

Sticky.

Holding his hand up to the sickly pale light, Ietsuna caught the faint gleam of red. He heart tightened as if a cold claw had gripped it, threatening to squeeze out his life. His body shook with fear, and his stomach fluttered with every painful beat of his heart.

Blood.

He was covered in blood.

It was running down the wound in his arm and leg and trickling down the gash across his chest. He was _coated_ in his blood.

His breath hitched and the world swam before him as the sickeningly sweet smell floated around him, twisting its tendrils around his body, whispering in his ear to give in.

The man standing above him watched silently, amusedly almost.

His family, his friends…death… His mind was swamped with images, he couldn't think straight. A picture of a silver-haired teen smiled at him, followed by the face of a cheerful raven-haired boy. Then the false grin of a white-haired man pushed the faces away.

_Byakuran_

In the far distance, Ietsuna heard the bang of a gunshot then a baby's voice telling him something. It reminded him of that one time with Yuni, the dream he had the night he left the hospital.

For some reason, he swore he saw Hibari charging at the longhaired swordsman but he shook it off as a hallucination, Hibari was back at his house, sleeping.

There was a small explosion and for a moment, Ietsuna saw a silver-haired teen looking worriedly at him, shaking his shoulders lightly to get him to stay awake. But all Ietsuna could think about was the laughing face of Byakuran, destroying everything he cared about.

Ietsuna fought dearly against the will to fall asleep—the teen looked exactly like the picture in his mind beforehand. But finally, the opposing force overwhelmed him. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell into the other's arms, unconscious.

A moment before he blacked out, a thought drifted through his mind, slowly repeating over and over again, trying to make it to his lips yet failing.

'_I'm sorry.'_

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A/N: Itching powder is a popular prank, and I'm sure you've heard of the bending a spoon magic trick. Don't mind the pranks, by the way, it's just a method for Ietsuna to escape reality and have some fun.

So, how's that? Ietsuna has hemophobia, which I though would be fitting seeing as he's seen so much blood in his past lifetime. It's got to be pretty traumatic.

Please be patient for chapter 3!

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**Leave a review on your way out!**

**Ciao!**


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